District Court of Appeal of Florida

The designer of a product may be liable in negligence to a foreseeable user of its product although there are intervening manufacturers and distributors. Summary judgment for defendants in an action alleging claims for strict liability and negligence based on negligent design involving a patient controlled analgesia pump is reversed in part where, although the absence of the pump supported summary judgment for manufacturers of different pump types, that fact did not support summary judgment on a negligent design claim for designer, who had designed all pumps used by the hospital.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/15/2006
• Published 11/15/2006

Judges

• WHATLEY, Judge.

Court

• District Court of Appeal of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Joel D. Eaton of Podhurst Orseck, P.A., Miami, and Bill Wagner of Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin, P.A., Tampa, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Charles D. Bavol and William J. Judge, Jr. of Bavol Judge, P.A. Tampa, for Appellee C.R. Bard, Inc. and Bard Medsystems Division., Jay B. Green and Jonathan M. Matzner of Green, Ackerman & Frost, P.A., Boca Raton, for Appellee, Bimeco, Inc., Maja C. Eaton and James R.M. Hemmings of Sidley Austin, LLP, Chicago, IL, Edward W. Gerecke and E. Kelly Bittick, Jr. of Carlton Fields, P.A., Tampa, and Robert E. Biasotti of Carlton Fields, P.A., St. Petersburg, for Appellee Baxter Healthcare.